MP: Denied ambulance, man forced to carry son’s body on bike

Pawan Namdev with the body of his six-year-old son Anuj in Bhind.
(HT Photo)

A man in Bhind district carried body of his son on a motorcycle as hospital authorities allegedly denied him an ambulance or a hearse on Friday night.

The incident reignited the memory of the shocking incident wherein Dana Majhi of Odisha’s Kalahandi district had to carry body of his wife on his shoulder for 10km due to the similar apathy of the hospital authorities.

Bhind district hospital officials allegedly turned down the request of Pawan Namdev to provide any vehicle to carry body of his six-year-old boy Anuj Namdev, who died at the hospital around 5pm.

“My son was admitted to the hospital under child specialist Dr RK Mishra. But due to the utter negligence of the doctors, he died. Adding to my woes, hospital authorities even refused to provide ambulance or any other vehicle to take my dead son home,” Pawan alleged.

Having no other way out, Pawan said, he carried the body on his motorcycle to reach their village, Mehandana, 25 kilometres away.

The hospital authorities, however, refuted the allegations saying the family did not approach them for the vehicle.

Dr Mishra even contested the family’s claim that the boy died due to negligence.

“The boy was already in coma when he was brought here. Before we could start treatment, he died. We could have saved his life if he was brought to the hospital earlier,” he said.

When contacted Civil Surgeon of the district hospital Dr KK Dixit said they were investigating the cause of the death, but denied that family’s request for the vehicle to carry the body was turned down.

“If they had asked for the ambulance, we would have definitely provided it,” Dixit said.